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Games, games and more games at Xbox’s Gamescom presser

The Green Team has just wrapped up its press conference at Gamescom in Cologne, showing off a huge number of games coming this year and next for Microsoft’s Xbox platforms (but primarily the Xbox One). They showed tons of games, announced three new Xbox One bundles (including a pretty-looking white Xbox One/Sunset Overdrive bundle) and generally did their utmost to convince the audience that Xbox One is the console to play.

Here are a few highlights:

Rise of the Tomb Raider, which continues Lara Croft’s origin story and comes out in time for Christmas 2015, is going to be exclusive to the Xbox One. Microsoft must have thrown boatloads of cash at Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics for the rights. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but I suspect I’m a little disappointed as the Xbox One has consistently been behind the PlayStation 4 when it comes to resolution and frame rates, something a game like Rise of the Tomb Raider needs to look its best. Still, the snippet MS showed off looked pretty good so all is not lost. Unless, of course, you only own a PlayStation 4 and have no intention of grabbing a One.

The new Call of Duty’s single-player campaign features an explosive car chase that ends with a massive bridge collapse that’s utterly spectacular to behold. Sledgehammer Games may well deliver on the “new gameplay across all game modes” promise they made on stage.

FIFA 15 is getting over 50 brand-new football legends for players to add to their Ultimate Teams that are exclusive to the Xbox One, including legendary Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.

26 new Indie games will make their way to the Xbox One this year with winners like Threes!, Superhot and god-themed MOBA Smite. Space Engineers and Goat Simulator, two Indie games that have done well on PC will appear on consoles for the first time.

Sunset Overdrive, one of the Xbox One’s most oft-punted exclusives is looking as crazy as always. I’m still not entirely convinced it’s going to offer a cohesive narrative or anything but a silly action-stuffed festival of chaos, and the demonstration I saw today doesn’t do much to change that.

Probably the biggest announcement was of the Halo: Master Chief Collection and its extras and remastered classic multiplayer maps. In the box you’ll get Halo 1, 2, 3 and 4 along with Nightfall, the live-action TV series based on the game as well as beta access to Halo 5 Guardians’ multiplayer test that happens from December 29, 2014 to January 18, 2015. Nightfall is a digital download that’ll let you watch the series via your Xbox One or Xbox.com.

But the highlight for me was a game I don’t know a whole lot about, but which I’m really keen on based on the tiny snippets Microsoft has shared since the Xbox One was announced: Quantum Domain Break, a game that promises to blend game-like action with a TV show, somehow. He showed off the “time stutter” mechanic in the game that has time stopping entirely for everyone except hero Jack Joyce and a select few enemies, as well as Joyce’s time-manipulating abilities that let him gain the upper hand in combat. The visuals alone are breathtaking, and seeing Jack walk through frozen scenes is hauntingly beautiful. I can’t wait for the game to launch, which is still an unknown date in 2015.

The presser was jam-packed with many more reasons to get excited if you’re rooting for Team Green, and if you’d like to see them all then watching the briefing in its entirety is highly recommended, which you can do over at Xbox.com. Microsoft also promised they’d be sharing plenty more over the course of Gamescom, so stay tuned.

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